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Indian Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor poses during the launch of the forthcoming Hindi film 'Neerja' in Mumbai late February 3, 2016. (Sujit Jaiswal / AFP / SUJIT JAISWAL)

Leading lights of the Bollywood industry have hailed Sonam Kapoor's performance in Neerja and the film as an inspiring masterpiece which will make India proud after the premiere in Mumbai.

Directed by Ram Madhvani, the drama chronicles the courage shown by Neerja Bhanot, a Pan Am flight attendant who tried to save the lives of passengers during a hijacking at Karachi airport in 1986. After the flight crew evacuated to prevent the plane from getting off the ground, she hid the passports of 41 American passengers from the four Arabic-speaking terrorists. Later she opened the emergency door and helped a number of passengers escape and was shot dead while shielding three children two days before her 23rd birthday.

She was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra , India's highest peacetime military award for valor or self-sacrifice — the youngest ever recipient. Produced by Bling Unplugged and Star Studios, Neerja opens on February 19. Kapoor plays the heroine while composer Shekhar Ravjiani of the duo Vishal-Shekhar makes his acting debut as her love interest.

On social media Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan declared the film is “absolutely stunning !! How on earth did Ram Madhvani successfully make this film is a wonder.”